


Faith is the bird that feels the light when the dawn is still dark.

by Istra_Faemore



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Fledglings, Gen, Kid Fic, Kid!Cas, Pre-Series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-10
Updated: 2014-04-10
Packaged: 2018-01-18 21:48:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,475
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1444102
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Istra_Faemore/pseuds/Istra_Faemore
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Cas is a baby!angel and gets hurt</p>
            </blockquote>





	Faith is the bird that feels the light when the dawn is still dark.

**Author's Note:**

> Can be read as a prequel to my Soulmate Bound series.

Castiel's wings hurt him, but the wind stole the breath he needed to whimper. He had just wanted to fly a little, to stretch his wings as he'd been told and shown. What he hadn't counted on was the sudden increase in the wind. The updraft tore him off his course; he tried to correct it, to fight, but he was just too small. 

Gritting his teeth, he attempted to pull his wings closer to himself so that they didn't feel like they were being torn off with every moment, but the gust was against him and each time he tried, they just flared out, unable to retract. Keeping him afloat.

_Hurting_.

He didn't even know where in Heaven he was, the pain was all he could think about. 

That was when he felt _it_ ; felt his wing tear slightly and he screamed silently. 

As suddenly as it started, the wind stopped. Castiel took a relieved gulp of air, whimpering when the movement flared his torn muscles. He brought himself to a stop, hovering slightly with the one good wing before the last of his strength failed and he closed his eyes as the ground came up to meet him.

 

~~~~~~~~~~

Michael knew it was going to be a bad day when he walked into the archangel's garden in a secluded part of Heaven and saw Lucifer and Gabriel sat together under a willow tree, heads close and voices low. He just _knew_ that he would be the subject of their next prank. The two were incorrigible. 

The innocent looks he received when he sat opposite them further confirmed it.

"I'm not going to leave and have another prank played on me," Michael commented, idly flexing his wings. Gabriel pulled a face at him.

"Oh come _on_ Michael, we wouldn't do that to you," Gabriel told him mock-seriously.

"Sure. Of course not. And you didn't die my wings pink last week?" A raised eyebrow at that caused Lucifer to snicker.

"You arrived too soon. If you hadn't, it would have been Raphael that we got. _That_ prank was your own fault."

"Lucifer, you're an archangel! You too, Gabriel."

"And? So?"

"You act worse than the fledglings occasionally. Show some decorum." Michael didn't even know why he bothered anymore; Lucifer and Gabriel would always be this way. And he still loved them. But it didn't stop him from cuffing them both with his wingtips, sending Gabriel sprawling and laughing.

Gabriel was about to pounce on Michael when a small winged object landed hard enough to cause a small hole in the ground between the three archangels.

"What in Father's Name?" Lucifer muttered as Gabriel and Michael scrambled upright. The low moan alerted them to the true nature of their fallen object: a little fledgling angel. Michael knelt by his side, hand reached out to touch the blue wings with white embossing. 

"Michael! Stop!" Gabriel snapped sharply, a breath quickly inhaled when he saw the mangled and misshapen wings. He swore softly and rapidly in Enochian. "He's very, very young and very hurt. Call Raphael. Shhhh little one. Don't move, stay there; you're safe. I swear." With that, Gabriel stroked his forehead whilst Lucifer gently covered the small angel with his wing, providing comfort and warmth. Michael watched as the two younger archangels wrapped the fledgling in their Grace. 

_Raphael?_ He sent out gently, voice calm. The last thing he wanted was to scare the child. _You must come home immediately._

The response he got was a thread of irritation. _I am teaching a class on healing, Michael! Now is not a good time. I'm not going to protect you from their pranks. Grow a pair and prank them back._

Under any other circumstances, Michael would splutter and protest; they were archangels, his brothers and he loved them completely. This time, however, he used the power that their Father had given him as the Prince of the Heavenly Host and commanded Raphael to return immediatly.

Silence and then -

\- _If this isn't seriously, I'll **pluck** your wings, featherbrain!_

Michael sent images to Raphael so that he saw what had happened. He knew when his brother dropped the vial he was holding on the floor. He knew when his brother ran out of the classroom and he knew when his brother took flight, speeding his way home.

"He's coming." 

The young angel opened his eyes, blue as his wings, and moaned again. He blinked, clearing his vision and when Michael's, Lucifer's and Gabriel's faces came into focus, he took a deep breath, panic spreading over all his features and he tried to move, screaming when the movement jarred his wing. 

"None of that please," Raphael said, alighting gently beside Michael. "Stay where you are little one." Raphael's musical voice was soft and gentle, caressing the injured angel with love and compassion.

"Where..." he trailed off, whimpering as Raphael tangled his hands in his feather, swiftly resetting the small bones and threading the whole appendage with tendrils of healing Grace.

"You're safe. In the archangel's garden. What is your name little one?" Not that it was necessary, but Raphael always found it easier to heal angels when he knew their names. Yes, they were all brothers and sisters, but there were so _many_ of them that sometimes it was impossible to know them all. Especially the younger ones. Especially before they reach the classes the archangels teach.

"Cas... Cas... Castiel." Castiel finally managed to get it out. He was terrified; of all the places that he could have landed, this was the worse. His older brothers, yes, but they were _archangels_ ; they were _powerful_ ; they had seen _Him_. Zachariah had told him tales of what the four archangels did to little angels that annoyed them when he'd had the courage to ask him about them. 

"That's a lovely name, little one. Relax Castiel. I'm going to heal you now. My name is Raphael," he smiled softly as he opened his Grace, opened himself to his little brother and sank into the smaller angel to assess and repair what was broken. 

"I know." The whisper was soft and still laced with his fear. 

~~~~~~~~~~

The healing was done easily for Raphael and he sat back on his feet observing the small fledgling. "There. How are you feeling now, little Castiel?"

"Much better, thank you," he ducked his head, trying to hide his face as he gently flexed the now-healed wing. 

"How did you get hurt, little one?" Lucifer asked gently. _Can I move him, Raphael?_

_Yes. But he's not leaving until he's stronger._

_I wasn't going to make him leave, little brother!_ With that, he picked the small angel up and sat back under the tree, his brother arrayed around him.

Castiel flushed red and mumbled his explanation. He couldn't look at them as thoughts of what his punishment would be flittered through his mind. All the different scenarios had the smug smile of Zachariah stamped over them.

"One so young shouldn't be flying alone," Gabriel said gently. "Who is your instructor?"

"Please, I know I shouldn't but we have a test tomorrow and he said he was busy and I hadn't learned to do what we were practising and I--"

"--Little one, we're not going to punish _you_ ," Gabriel told him, stoking his cheek. Michael looked at him sharply, picking up on the youngest archangel's tone. No, the fledgling would not be punished and his instructor should have made the time, _especially_ if the young one had not mastered what he needed to know.

"Tell us, please," Lucifer implored, rocking him gently.

"Zachariah," Castiel whispered softly. Michael kissed Castiel's brow softly and stood. 

"I'll deal with him Gabriel," he told him when Gabriel had made to get up. 

"But _I'm_ the archangel of justice," Gabriel pointed out mulishly. Michael raised his brow and Gabriel subsided into muttering about pushy older brothers. The lack of respect that Gabriel showed Michael had Castiel paling and Raphael laughing when he ascertained the cause.

"Oh, little one. Gabriel _loves_ Michael and Michael isn't going to hurt him, I assure you."

"Even if he does dye my wings pink," Michael winked softly, causing a small smile on Castiel's face.

"Thank you for helping me again, Raphael. But I should leave," Castiel pulled away but found himself thoroughly wrapped up in Lucifer's arms.

"No, you are staying here for a while. Your test will be postponed and you will have a more suitable instructor," Michael promised him before leaving. 

Castiel turned to Lucifer and began protesting. "But--"

"--No buts little one. You had a bad injury; your wings are not strong enough for you to learn that manoeuvre at present. Your instructor has let you down. You will rest here and we will teach you." _You heard that, right, Michael? We **will** teach him._

_I heard you Lucifer._


End file.
